Empathy for Educators

Lately, the idea of goodbyes has had me thinking about how stressful the end of the year can be for educators.

Many are not fortunate enough to have secure positions. Even tenured educators often end the year unsure of what the next one will hold. There are forms to complete, preferences to submit, and uncertainty about who will or won’t be retained in the budget—all while managing the stress of final grades and striving to end the school year strong.

There’s also the wondering: which new students will enter their classrooms next year? And, quietly, the hope that some of the more challenging students might not return to their roster.

For some, the last day of school is something they anticipate from the very first day, because the work they signed up for has changed so drastically. For them, the end cannot come soon enough.

I feel empathy for the educator who is asked to teach a new subject after spending time building a curriculum for another—who must then face evaluations without a clear standard, yet is still expected to succeed.

I feel empathy for the educator who carefully packs up their classroom at the end of the year, only to learn they must move rooms when the new year begins. It’s a real thing—and an exhausting one.

I feel empathy for the educator who waits for retirement—not because they’ve lost belief in education, but because they are worn down by the system, or the lack of one.

And I feel empathy for the educator who must leave behind a team, a classroom, or a school that once felt right, and start over again.

Most of all, I feel empathy for the educator who is simply trying to figure it all out.